Reflections & Shards
by YouthfulSoul
Summary: A series of one shots and drabbles surrounding the adventures of a shrine boy, a dog girl, and their ever expanding array of comrades and enemies. [Inuyasha & Kagome role reversal; may contain Inuyasha/Kouga & Kagome/Kikyou. Rated to allow wiggle room, will contain cussing and minor violence.]
1. The Many Roles Of Inuyasha Higurashi

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything._

 _ **Title:** The Many Roles Of Inuyasha Higurashi_

 _ **Prompt:** Soldier_

 _ **Summary:** Inuyasha has been a lot of things to a lot of people, but he never thought he'd become this._

 _ **Word Count:** 389_

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Inuyasha was a lot of things. He was born an heir; the first born son of Daiki and Rei Higurashi. He was their pride and joy, a spoiled child who basked in the love and support of his family. He was five years old when he became the man of the house; a tragic accident claimed Daiki and his aging mother's lives. Inuyasha was small, but he understood his father and grandmother were never coming home. He also understood his mother was hurting and his grandfather was old, and they needed him to be strong for them. Seven months later, he became a big brother. Inuyasha had never seen anyone so small and defenseless before. His mother had cried because Souta would never know their father, and Inuyasha vowed he would always protect his baby brother. He may not have a father, but Souta would have the best big brother he could be. Inuyasha was ten years old when the reality of just how much his family was struggling set in, and he started doing odd jobs and favors for neighbors and friends. He was thirteen when he started working part time around the shrine, answering questions and selling cheap knickknacks to tourists after school, between martial arts and sword fighting lessons.

A protector, a provider, a brother and a son and a student; he had taken all of his roles very seriously. Inuyasha was fifteen when he fell down the well and he became something new. He wasn't sure when it happened, if it happened all at once or slowly, but it had happened. He'd been too caught up in his other roles to notice at first, too busy protecting and providing for the others, as he always had for his family and friends, and always would. Inuyasha was sitting by the fire, staring at the sword he'd used to cleave the head off a demon just hours before, and listening to Kagome frantically trying to wash away the scent of human blood when it dawned on him. He realized what the world had made of the loyal shrine boy, the soft hearted hanyou, the slayer who just wanted her family back and the monk who just wanted the chance to start one, and even the little orphaned fox kit.

Inuyasha was fifteen when he became a soldier.

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 **Sometimes you forget how young characters are. Sometimes they forget it too.**

 **This series of drabbles is kind of an experiment for me, might blossom into a full blown fic in the distant future. Review, please?**


	2. Fire, Glass, And Passion

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything._

 _ **Title:** Fire, Glass, And Passion_

 _ **Prompt:** Mask_

 _ **Summary:** Behind his temper, beyond her kindness, always on his sleeve. Inuyasha wears a mask, Kagome puts up a wall, and Kouga can only be himself._

 _ **Word Count:** 290_

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Inuyasha has worn his mask for ten long years. It is made of fire and fury, and it hides his weakness from the world. You will not see him cry; you will only see him sneer. He brushes off concern with a scoff, covers his fear with snide remarks, masks his love with anger. Inuyasha wears his mask to be strong for others, and he has only ever let a handful of people to see beyond it. He only lets a few support him when he is weak.

Kagome is kind and dear and soft, except for when she is firm and heated and unrelenting. She is the definition of nurturing, a mother to all. Her mask is not fire nor fury, but cool and fragile and barely there; a wall of glass that rises only when one dug too deep into her past. She did not speak of her parents, of her brother, of the lover who put an arrow in her chest. Her childhood was not one worth revisiting, and those few years she had with her mother were too painful to bear. Only at her strongest, or perhaps her weakest, did she allow that mask to shatter.

Kouga did not wear a mask; he never had and he never would. Whether it was a strength or a weakness depended on who you asked, but to him it was pretty simple: he was who he was and he felt what he felt, and he didn't know how to be anyone else. He was passionate and honest to dizzying extremes; he could never do or feel anything half hearted. Kouga put all of his soul into every thing he did, and he made sure the whole world knew it.

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 **A fun comparison to make, actually. This is my favorite so far.**


	3. Not Quite Courtship

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything._

 _ **Title:** Not Quite Courtship_

 _ **Prompt:** Rivalry_

 _ **Summary:** Inuyasha, Kouga, and a brief look at their interesting relationship._

 _ **Word Count** : 465_

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Inuyasha had sensed the shards approaching, felt the familiar tingle of awareness up his spine and the tug at his core. The speed at which they advanced had nearly overwhelmed his "sixth sense," making his stomach churn as he tried to keep up with the blur of energy. Before Inuyasha could speak he was there, glowing with the shards' power and snarling at them like they had done wrong in defending themselves from the wolves. Kouga, he'd claimed, Ieader of the Eastern Wolf Tribe. As if that made any difference, excused the horrors he'd allowed his beasts to commit. Inuyasha had hated him in that moment. All these people, an entire village, senselessly slaughtered, and the bastard couldn't even muster an ounce of remorse or guilt.

The way he spoke to Kagome made him sick. How dare he speak to her that way, to any of them that way, as though they were weak and he were better than them? What did a rotten wolf prince know about what real strength was? Each and every one of his friends was kinder, smarter, stronger than he was. Just because that prick could run like a comic book character didn't mean he was better than anyone. Then he even had the nerve to kidnap him! Inuyasha had at least been able to get Shippo out of there, secretly worried what the much larger demons would do to the fox kit they had no use for. It wasn't much of a surprise Inuyasha spent his entire stint in captivity arguing with Kouga. He was pretty sure the wolf had gotten awfully close to deciding he wasn't worth the effort more than once.

Inuyasha didn't really know what he was thinking when he defended Kouga. Honestly even he'd expected himself to stand back and let Kagome put an arrow through him, but he hadn't. Maybe it was because he knew Kouga had a family, or because he didn't like the idea of Kagome killing out of vengeance for him, or maybe it was because some part of him had enjoyed their constant back and forth. Maybe it was all three. Whatever the reason, he'd done it, and something had changed between them. They still called themselves rivals, still fought over every little thing they could think of, but Kouga sprinkled in veiled compliments and flirtatious remarks, always catching Inuyasha off guard in the midst of a fight. Kagome wasn't keen on him hanging around, but Inuyasha found he actually enjoyed the wolf's presence, probably a lot more than he should. It was an odd almost relationship, a fragile balancing between challenge and courtship. Some day the balance would need to be tipped for good, but for now both boys were content to call this thing between them a rivalry.

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 **Shrugs. I don't know when I started shipping this it just kinda snuck up on me? But its cute and it makes room for lesbian Kagome, so . . .**


	4. A Mother Knows

_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing._

 _ **Title:** A Mother Knows_

 _ **Prompt:** Light_

 _ **Summary:** Rei watches her son come into the world glowing; some part of her always knew he would leave that way, too._

 _ **Word Count:** 326_

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Inuyasha Higurashi came into this world with a flash of soft pink light. His mother would never forget that moment, lifting her head despite the overwhelming exhaustion at the sound of her newborn son's first cries and seeing the babe literally _glowing_. It had lasted for only an instant, and then it was gone. The doctors had never spoke of it; when she asked a nurse, they had insisted she must have imagined it. It had been a hard delivery, after all, and her first one. Rei Higurashi was no fool. She had been raised in a shrine; she knew an omen when she saw one. Her little son was destined for great things. She had raised him with love and care, and always kept a subtle eye out for that light of his. She never saw him truly glow that way again, but it seemed as thought everything about that boy was light, from his colorless hair to his big blue eyes. He was certainly the light of her life. Rei watched him grow too fast, marveling at what a kind, strong boy he was – full of life and compassion and _fire_. Perhaps she couldn't help but think such greatness of her children, but she still believed that light had meant something. When her little boy came back after vanishing for days, ranting about demons and priestesses and jewels that glowed with soft pink light, she knew. She didn't want to believe it at first, because it meant her boy would leave her too soon, but she _knew_. This was the greatness he was destined for, so as much as it pained her to watch her firstborn walk right out of their world, she packed him a bag and let him go. Inuyasha Higurashi left the world in a flash of bright pink light, and Rei could do nothing but watch him go and pray he would never let anyone dim that light of his.

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 **I really liked writing this one too. I named Kagome's mother Rei because . . . I don't really know. It's short and sweet and I like it? I'm pretty I mentioned her and her husband's names in _The Many Roles Of Inuyasha Higurashi_ too; I named his father Daiki. **


	5. Siren's Song

_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing._

 _ **Title:** Siren's Song_

 _ **Prompt:** Siren_

 _ **Summary:** Kagome is watching over her friends, as she always does, when an enchanting sound catches her attention._

 _ **Word Count:** 697_

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It was well past nightfall, and as was often the case, Kagome was the only member of the pack still awake. Though they often took guard duty in shifts, the fact of the matter was that as a half demon, she required less sleep than the humans, and the kit, and lookout duty in the middle of the night almost fell to her. Not that she really minded, of course. It was her duty to protect the weaker members of the pack, and she tended to have trouble sleeping anyway. Honestly, she found guard duty rather comforting. Perched high on a tree limb, Kagome could hear each breath and heartbeat of her slumbering companions and the reminder that she wasn't alone anymore, that she had friends who trusted her with their lives, filled her with such joy. Shippo whined in his sleep; Kagome's ears twitched as she leaned forward to watch him, ready to leap to his aide if he needed it. The little fox kit rolled over and snuggled closer to Inuyasha, who stirred slightly and patted the discontented demon on the head. Shippo relaxed, and within moments both boys were sleeping peacefully again. Kagome pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape. Inuyasha always acted like such a hard ass, but he really was the sweetest boy deep down – especially when he didn't think anyone was watching.

With Shippo settled back down, the world returned to noisy quiet that Kagome was used to. A slight breeze ruffled the leaves, crickets sang loudly in the distance, nocturnal creatures scurried through the night . . . and music drifted in the air? Kagome tilted her head and strained her ears, unsure if she was really hearing what she thought she was. A soft voice reached her, mingling with the gentle sound of an unidentifiable instrument. Kagome's eyes widened as the music grew subtly louder; it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard. Without a thought, she leaped off the tree branch and followed the sound of the music. She absolutely had to find the source of such perfection! With each step she took, the music grew louder and her daze grew stronger; soon she was swaying and humming along to the tune, absolutely giddy. The trees around her thinned, giving way to the gentle slope of a river bank. Kagome inhaled sharply as the source of the sound came into view. It was a woman, or almost a woman, one with a shapely figure and delicate features and flowing robes, all formed of shimmering water. This was, of course, a Siren demon, but Kagome was too enthralled to remember that. The Siren held out her hand and beckoned her forward, and Kagome started toward her, desperately eager to dance with this beautiful woman. The smile on the woman's face grew wider, and Kagome remained blissfully oblivious to the deadly gleam in her eyes and the chill of the water as she stepped into the river.

Kagome reached out her hand; her heart was pounding to the beat of the Siren song. A sword suddenly slashed through the Siren, slicing her semi solid form in two; the Siren screamed in agony and dissolved with a familiar flash of pink light. Kagome gasped and staggered back, spell broken. She suddenly became aware of the fact she was knee deep in a freezing river, and everything felt sore and tired. Inuyasha was standing before her, sheathing his sword and giving her that _you could have been killed you damn idiot_ look. Kagome smiled sheepishly; he shook his head and started walking back to camp.

"I'm taking over. Go to sleep."

Kagome briefly considered arguing, but realized there wasn't much point in that. She was exhausted from the effects of the Siren's song, and Inuyasha was using _that tone_. She really didn't want to get in a shouting match while everyone else was trying to sleep, so she just curled up in a cozy spot beside the fire where she could dry off and warm up. She needed it, and besides, she trusted Inuyasha with her life, just as he trusted her with his.

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 **The Siren's song basically attracts anyone who finds them attractive. Kagome, being pansexual, is caught in her spell. Inuyasha, being a gay guy, is luckily immune! Also Kagome refers to them as a pack, so any time I say "the pack" I am referring to to Inuyasha and the gang, unless otherwise specified.**

 **Inuyasha is the king of really specific looks that make everyone hang their head in shame. Also, he uses a sword he can infuse with his spiritual power. Like sacred arrows, but sacred sword. Rather than a magic demonic sword, Kagome has a magic demonic bow. Her quiver can project barriers the same way Tessaiga's sheath can.**

 **Reviews would be greatly appreciated, guys. I enjoy writing these, and I'd like to know if you enjoy reading them. I'd like to thank LadyCash for their compliments, I really appreciate it!**


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